AFL Press Release

AFL announces online streaming partnership with Ustream

Friday February 17, 2012

Arena Football League, Ustream agree on two-year deal CHICAGO – The Arena Football League announced today that the 2012 and 2013 AFL seasons will be available online for live and video on demand viewing through Ustream, the leader in live, interactive, and online streaming. The partnership, which is a two-year deal, will cover the majority of the AFL schedule for each of the 17 teams beginning with Opening Weekend on March 10.

“We are extremely excited about partnering with Ustream,” AFL Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz said. “This is the ‘Year of the Fan,’ and our fans have made it clear they want live, online coverage of our games. Ustream’s level of innovation and commitment to excellence in online broadcasting makes them the perfect partner for Arena Football.”

Fans will be able to access the broadcasts through ArenaFootball.com, Facebook, Ustream.tv, and on Ustream’s individual AFL team pages. In addition, viewers will also be able to visit Ustream’s AFL SuperChannel, a directory of the AFL and team channels, where viewers are able to navigate and select what coverage they want to watch of the 17 active channels in an interactive interface.

“It is an honor to partner with the AFL to distribute their live games and press conferences to a growing community of fans eager to engage with their sport,” Wayne Sieve, Vice President of Content Partnerships for Ustream said. “In a world of mobility, the consumption of live sporting events on a variety of platforms is something today’s sports fans expect. We are proud to partner with the AFL in distributing their games to fans online, through mobile or their smart TV’s.”

Each AFL team will have its own channel on Ustream for both live broadcasts, as well as archived games on demand. All team channels will be complete with real-time chat windows allowing fans to interact before, during, and after the live broadcasted games. The video player and chat modules are fully embeddable and can be distributed by other online publishers.

“This exposes AFL fans to a whole new way to view our games online,” AFL Vice President of Broadcasting, Communications and Branding Anthony Herron said. “The ability to interact with each other and share the video will only add to the most fan friendly sport.”

Fans will have the ability to download the Ustream for Mobile application <http://www.ustream.tv/mobile> , which will allow anyone with an iOS and Android device to watch the AFL season directly from the mobile app completely free of charge. The app enables fans to watch the team events in real-time and allow users to login through their Ustream, Facebook or Twitter accounts to participate in the chat room or Social Stream directly from their device. For up to the minute notifications of when teams go live, viewers are able to “Join Crowds” for any broadcasting team.

Ustream will provide free-for-view live access to all AFL regular season games, except for the weekly “Arena Football Friday” Game of the Week on NFL Network.

The 25th season of Arena Football kicks off Friday, March 9.

About the AFL:
Since its inception in 1987, the AFL has provided the fast-paced and exciting game of Arena Football to millions of fans in numerous markets across the country. NFL Network will once again broadcast an AFL National Game of the Week for the entire regular and post season on Friday nights at 8:00 pm ET, culminating with the ArenaBowl Championship Game on August 10, 2012.

About Ustream:
Ustream, Inc. is the leader in live and interactive video streaming. The interactive platform connects broadcasters and viewers of unlimited size through innovative technology including co-hosting video features, IRC chat, Facebook, and Twitter. Ustream's free and premium solutions allow any broadcaster to create their own customizable channel with robust social and notification features to enhance visibility and virality across multiple platforms. In addition to activating the embeddable features on external websites, users are able to broadcast and view content while interacting in real-time directly from mobile phone devices, tablets, streaming players, smart TVs, and more. The company attracts millions of users ranging from music artists, celebrities, politicians, athletes, corporate executives, animal enthusiasts, and gamers which has contributed to Ustream's Guinness World Record for the “Most Content Ingested by An Online Video Service”. For more information about Ustream, visit www.ustream.com and follow us on our socials: Twitter (@Ustream); Facebook (facebook.com/Ustream).